Former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta warned Monday that President Donald Trump’s ban on three major news organizations could be preparation for a looming challenge to the midterm election results.
Acosta told New York Magazine's Intelligencer that the president’s attacks on CNN, MS NOW and Politico are both “a distraction and a danger to our democracy.”
“My concern is he’s kind of laying the groundwork to put the country through yet another constitutional crisis,” Acosta told the outlet. “And he is trying to soften up the press to what may be a challenge to the election results.”
He accused Trump of being in “serious political trouble” ahead of the midterms and insisted the president’s sudden ban “should be taken very seriously.”
Trump barred journalists from the three outlets after repeatedly attacking their coverage as “fake news.” The organizations responded Monday with a federal lawsuit arguing that the White House violated their reporters’ constitutional rights.
Acosta, who faced a similar retaliation during Trump’s first term, said Monday he welcomed the television networks’ decision to stand together following the latest ban, but argued their response may not “go far enough.”
“This should have been done a long time ago when the Associated Press was banned,” the former CNN correspondent told New York Magazine, adding: “because they didn’t do that, this has remained a tool in his arsenal.”
He suggested that news organizations should stop sending reporting teams into the Trump White House until the restrictions are lifted.
“Appeasement doesn’t work,” Acosta concluded, pointing out that strongly worded statements from journalists have done little to restrain Trump’s attacks on the press.
“Where have they gotten us in this second administration, not just the news media but from any institution in American society?” he asked.